Origin

This comes from the earlier word botanic borrowed from French botanique, which goes back to Greek botanē ‘plant’. The explorer Captain James Cook ( 1728–79), who landed there in 1770, named Botany Bay because of the large variety of plants collected there by his companion, Sir Joseph Banks ( 1743–1820). Later the area became noted from its wool production and from the late 19th century botany was used for Australian wool.